← Back to sermon library

2 Kings 1, I'll begin reading 
in verse 1. Moab rebelled against Israel 
after the death of Ahab. Now Ahaziah fell through the 
lattice of his upper room in Samaria and was injured. So he 
sent messengers and said to them, go, inquire of Beelzebub, the 
god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury. But 
the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go 
up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say 
to them, Is it because there is no god in Israel that you 
are going to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore, 
thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to 
which you have gone up, but you shall surely die. So Elijah departed. And when the messengers returned 
to him, he said to them, Why have you come back? So they said 
to him, A man came up to meet us, and said to us, Go, return 
to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord. Is it because there is no God 
in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Beelzebub, the 
god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come 
down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely 
die. Then he said to them, what kind 
of a man was it, or what kind of man was it who came up to 
meet you and told you these words? So they answered him, a hairy 
man wearing a leather belt around his waist. And he said, it is 
Elijah the Tishbite. Then the king sent to him a captain 
of 50 with his 50 men. So he went up to him, and there 
he was sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him, 
man of God, the king has said, come down. So Elijah answered 
and said to the captain of 50, if I am a man of God, then let 
fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men. And fire came down from heaven 
and consumed him and his 50. Then he sent to him another captain 
of 50 with his 50 men. And he answered and said to him, 
Man of God, thus has the king said, Come down quickly. So Elijah 
answered and said to them, If I am a man of God, let fire come 
down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men. And the 
fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 
Again he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. 
And the third captain of fifty went up, and came, and fell on 
his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to 
him, Man of God, please, let my life and the life of these 
fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Look, fire has 
come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of 
fifties with their fifties, but let my life now be precious in 
your sight. And the angel of the Lord said 
to Elijah, Go down with him, do not be afraid of him. So he 
arose and went down with him to the king. Then he said to 
him, Thus says the Lord, Because you have sent messengers to inquire 
of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no god 
in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you shall not come 
down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely 
die. So Ahaziah died according to 
the word of the Lord, which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no 
son, Jehoram became king in his place. In the second year of 
Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Now the rest of 
the acts of Ahaziah, which he did, are they not written in 
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? Amen. Well, as I said last week, we 
won't spend time introducing 2 Kings because it's simply a 
continuation of 1 Kings. It's generally been agreed upon 
that 1 and 2 Kings makes up one book. And I think that John Gill 
helpfully explains. He says, this and the preceding 
book are properly but one book divided into two parts. And I 
love the reason he gives, because of the bigness of it. As the 
book of Samuel, it is a continuation of the history of the kings of 
Israel and Judah. So the time frame covered here 
in 2 Kings is about 853 or 852 to 560 BC. And as Gil says, it continues 
to trace out the torn or divided kingdom. Remember, the kingdom 
was divided in 1 Kings 12. It will remain thus until 2 Kings 
17, when the fall of the northern kingdom takes place, and then 
in 2 Kings 25, the fall of the southern kingdom. But as we look 
at the death here of Ahaziah, remember that he was introduced 
at the end of chapter 22. If you notice in verse 51, it 
tells us that Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, became king over Israel, 
in Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. And 
he reigned two years over Israel. He did evil in the sight of the 
Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of 
his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who 
had made Israel sin. for he served Baal, and worshipped 
him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according 
to all that his father had done." So essentially what we have is 
the death of Ahab at the end of chapter 22. And that's good 
news for Israel, because that ends a 22-year reign by an idolater. But here we see that Ahaziah 
is essentially an Ahab junior. And so as we read here in 2 Kings 
1, we're essentially reading a prolonged account of his death. 
That is what the writer chooses to highlight in terms of this 
man's reign. It's a long description of how 
he comes to the end. And I wanna look at three things 
this evening. First, the idolatry of Israel's 
king in verses one to eight. Secondly, the protection of God's 
prophet in verses nine to 14. And then finally, the certainty 
of God's word in verses 15 to 18. And incidentally, this is 
coming to the end of the ministry of Elijah the prophet. In chapter 
two, he's going to be translated into heaven and the light's gonna 
shine upon Elisha, the prophet who will indeed take up the mantle 
and engage in this prophetic ministry. But let's look first 
at the idolatry of Israel's king. And the only sort of historical 
reference is here in verse 1 and then later in terms of the successor 
to Ahaziah, his brother Jehoram. Now, there are going to be two 
Jehorams. There's a Jehoram, the son of 
Jehoshaphat, who was the king of the south, and then there 
was a Jehoram, the son of Ahab, who was the king of the north. 
So, it's just the way it goes. Sometimes the Jehorams get a 
little bit confusing. I think the New King James, and 
possibly other translations at times, uses the word Joram, a 
sort of abbreviated version. But just realize that the author 
isn't saying gobble at the end here of chapter 1, but there 
really were two Jehoram's. A Jehoram, the son of Ahab, and 
a Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat. And both of these Jehoram, Jehoramim, 
the plural form of Jehoram, are going to be kings over the kingdom 
as a whole. But notice, the rebellion of 
Moab. And I think that this sort of 
indicates something. It's not very conspicuous, but 
it tells us Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 
It's not necessarily a good sign. Now, certainly in political turmoil, 
when a king dies, you would expect that sort of subject nations 
around or subject nations within would try and mount opposition. Well, David had secured Moab, 
and they had been subdued over the long period of time. And 
here at the end of Ahab's reign, they now begin to rebel. That's 
going to be amplified later in 2 Kings 3. But it is intriguing 
that in the southern kingdom, they were able to keep subject 
nations under their thumb. We saw that in the description 
of Jehoshaphat, that there was no king in Edom, only a deputy 
of the king. So at the time of Jehoshaphat, 
they were able to keep down these other nations. But interestingly 
enough, Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram, when he engages in Baal worship, 
that's when they then lose control of Edom. And so there might be 
an observation to make here. When you begin to depart from 
the living and true God and you follow after Baal, your own kingdom 
begins to crumble. In fact, Provan says, presumably 
the point is that Esau's relatively righteous successor Jehoshaphat 
maintains suzerainty over other nations. That means that they 
had a relationship where those persons were subject to them 
over other nations. Whereas Ahab's Baal-worshipping 
son loses it. It is significant that it is 
under Jehoshaphat's Baal-worshipping son, Jehoram, that Edom rebels 
against Judah. So in other words, when you defect 
from God, things in the kingdom don't go well. And I think that's 
probably the direction that verse 1 is sort of taking us. Moab 
rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. Now notice, 
secondly, the injury and idolatry of Ahaziah. Of course, this sets 
up the rest of the chapter dealing with the death of Ahaziah. Now, 
we don't know why he fell, but it says that Ahaziah fell through 
the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and was injured. Again, he might have been drinking, 
he might have been partying, he might have been carousing. 
He might have been chasing, not his son, because he died without 
his son. We don't know why he fell, but 
he does fall. And Matthew Henry makes this 
very perceptive observation. He says, wherever we go, there 
is but a step between us and death. It doesn't surprise us 
when Ahab dies on the battlefield, but here we see Ahaziah, in the 
privacy and the comfort of his own home, about to come to his 
death. Matthew Henry goes on to say, 
a man's house is his castle, but not to secure him against 
the judgments of God. The cracked lattice is as fatal 
to the son when God pleases to make it so, as the bow drawn 
at random was to the father. So completely different in terms 
of setting and situation, but the same vengeance of Almighty 
God against Baal-worshipping idolaters. So this is his injury. Now notice his response. It is 
an expression of his idolatry. Verse 2b, go inquire of Baal-zebub, 
the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury. Now 
the translation here, Baal-zebub, that means lord of flies. If you look at your marginal 
reading there, you'll see that. Some say or some suggest the 
original title was Baal-zebul. And Baal-zebul means Baal the 
prince or Baal the the royal one. And they suggest that Hebrew 
writers changed the L to a B to better reflect the fact that 
he was a dunghill deity. That he was indeed this god of 
the Philistines that was no god whatsoever. So this Baal Zebub 
is the one that Ahaziah calls on. Now notice, this is an ongoing 
commitment. I think there's a couple of things 
here we ought to appreciate. In the first place, Isaiah knows 
that he may be dying. I mean, this is his whole point 
in verse 2b, go and inquire of Beelzebub if I am going to recover 
from this injury. So whatever the injury was, it 
was enough to cause him this sort of consternation where he 
sends to Beelzebub to see if he's going to recover. Now, note 
the wickedness of man in the 11th hour, the potential 11th 
hour. He's on his deathbed. He knows 
who Yahweh, the living and the true God, is because he's been 
brought up in Israel. Certainly, it's been obscured 
by his wretched father, Ahab, and his godless mother, Jezebel, 
but nevertheless, the vestiges of Yahweh-ism is still present 
in the northern kingdom. And yet, this man on his deathbed 
is calling for Baal-zabab. It really illustrates just how 
wicked man is. and how engaged in the folly 
of idolatry man can be. When he comes to the point of 
death, instead of humbling himself and casting himself upon the 
living and the true God, he is calling upon Baal-Zebub, looking 
for him to provide some sort of an answer in terms of his 
recovery. As well, it's not a brand new 
thing. This is not ignorance on the 
part of Ahaziah. As we saw at the end of chapter 
22, he followed that trifecta of Ahab, of Jezebel, and of Jeroboam, 
the son of Nebat. This was a learned response. 
This was a commitment on the part of Ahaziah. He was committed 
to Baalism. He doesn't abandon that. He doesn't 
relinquish that. He's going to take this right 
to the grave with him. And I think that suggests to 
us how important it is in the evangelistic enterprise of the 
church that we pray to God that He sends His Holy Spirit. Because 
apart from the Holy Spirit, men are going to clutch their dunghill 
deities and take them right into the pit alongside of them. If 
we don't have the Spirit of God, when we preach the Gospel of 
God, there will never be conversions unto God. Ahaziah is an idolater, 
and he is going to carry that right down to the grave with 
him. Now note the intervention by 
God in verses 3 to 8. And I think this intervention 
highlights God's uniqueness. God's uniqueness, because the 
gods of the heathen or the pagan gods wouldn't care one bit what 
God you sought help from. They wouldn't care one bit whatsoever. If you were Baal, you wouldn't 
care if they went to Asherah. We know they don't care because 
they don't really exist. But in the pantheon of Canaanite 
deities, there was no rivalry, there was no competition in terms 
of, I want your total allegiance to me. But you get this from 
the true and living God. He does not brook rivals. He 
does not share himself. He is not content to be one among 
many. He is the true and the living 
God. Remember Elijah on Mount Carmel in chapter 18 at verse 
21. Choose whom you will serve. If Baal is God, then serve him. 
If Yahweh is God, then serve him. We need to appreciate, and 
I think this chapter brings it home, God takes seriously the 
first and second commandments. Notice, this is his question. 
He says, I'm sorry, the message from God in verse 3, the angel 
of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, arise, go up to meet 
the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, is it 
because there is no God in Israel that you're going to inquire 
of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? He's unique. He's concerned. He intervenes. He sends the Tishbite 
to turn this Ahaziah back from his idolatry. I think this demonstrates 
as well, I've already mentioned, his intolerance. You know, we 
read that in the second commandment. God is a jealous God. We think of that concept of jealousy 
and it typically suggests sin. Now, it is the case that more 
often than not, as creatures, we engage in sinful jealousy. But jealousy is an aspect of 
loyalty and love. In fact, if there was no jealousy 
on the part of God, it'd be questionable whether indeed there was actual 
love. But because God loves us and 
God is jealous for us, God is jealous of His own holiness and 
of His own name, He expresses Himself in this particular manner. 
He is not a God to be shared. He is not a God that says, go 
ahead and have Baal for this, and go ahead and have Asherah 
for this, and go ahead and have Yahweh for this. Whatever your 
particular needs are, you just fit it in with whatever God you 
see is fitting for that particular situation. No, this is the incomparable 
God. This is the one true and living 
God. This is the God of absolute, unrivaled, unparalleled sovereignty, 
and He expresses Himself as a unique God, as a jealous God, and as 
a God who is going to deal with Ahaziah in his sin and iniquity. Now, I think that this also highlights 
something of His mercy. Didn't we see God's mercy to 
the wretch Ahab? Over and over again, God dispatches 
Elijah to Ahab. Why? Because the prophetic word 
comes to Ahab with the intent that the prophetic word would 
cut to his heart and cause Ahab to stop and desist from his wickedness 
and his sin. Now again, God is sovereign. 
He gives the grace and all of that to be sure that these overtures 
and this provision of the word of God is an evidence of the 
grace of God. that he sends the Tishbite to 
this man in the eleventh hour to tell him these things, it's 
a warning. What should Ahaziah do? He should 
stop. He should forsake Beelzebub and 
he should flee to Yahweh of Israel. This is an act of God's mercy. 
Davis makes this observation as he considers God in the way 
that he reveals himself. He says, again, we see our uncomfortable 
God. Yahweh is furious, not tolerant, 
holy, not reassuring, loving, not nice. But there is love in 
His fury. He won't let you walk the path 
to idolatry easily. His mercy litters the way with 
roadblocks. That is a wonder considering 
He so detests our idols. I think that's a great observation, 
and I think Christians struggle with this. Hopefully we don't, 
but I think Christians do. Listen to what he says. Yahweh 
is furious, not tolerant. See, that's the sin of our age, 
is tolerance. Now, tolerance is fine when it 
comes to, shall we have the meatloaf tonight, or shall we have the 
pot roast? I'm not a big fan of your meatloaf. I really am for Rebecca's, but 
I'm going to go ahead and tolerate that. Tolerance is a good thing, 
practiced in such ways. But tolerance, when it comes 
to the worship of the living and true God, God is not tolerant. God is not pro-idol. God is not 
helpers with Him for our good. God is intolerant. He goes on 
to say He's holy, not reassuring. See, again, that's something 
we crave in our society. We want to be reassured God's 
holy. And then this last one, I just love it. Loving, not nice. See, that's the conception of 
God. He's just nice. He's just nice. He's just this 
maudlin ball of sentimentality and he's just nice. No, that's 
not the God we serve. In fact, you'll probably change 
your tune on the niceness of God as we proceed in the exposition 
tonight. I mean, that nice God really 
frustrates people when he starts killing soldiers that come to 
take Elijah prisoner. But this is the case. The Lord 
God will brook no rival. He is unique. He is intolerant. That expresses his jealousy. 
But in his mercy, he dispatches the Tishbite to this man. So then, what God says to tell 
the messengers, we assume that such is the case between verses 
4 and 5. The narrator doesn't have to 
tell us that Elijah did find the messengers. He did instruct 
them of this. He assumes that we'll follow 
the logic. God tells Elijah, Elijah obeys. He tells the messengers. Now notice in verse five, the 
messengers come back to the king. It says, and when the messengers 
returned to him, he said to them, why have you come back? He knew 
they didn't go to Ekron. They didn't have enough time 
to make the journey. Now there's a bit of risk here 
for these messengers. The king gave them a task. Didn't 
he? He said, go to Ekron and ask 
about Beelzebub whether I'm going to recover from this sickbed 
or not. They don't do that. So they must have seen some degree 
of authority residing in Elijah. For Elijah to prevail upon these 
men, to keep them from engaging in the task that the king had 
given them, and send them back to the king, they had to have 
seen something unique about the prophet Elijah. And so then they 
rehearsed the message. They said, verse 6, A man came 
up to meet us, and said to us, Go, return to the king who sent 
you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord. Is it because there 
is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Beelzebub, 
the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come 
down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely 
die. Isn't it intriguing? Ahaziah 
wants to know from Beelzebub if he's going to recover. The 
fact that he has usurped the living and true God and he has 
gone to Beelzebub has secured his own death. And now God tells 
Elijah to tell the messengers that he is certainly not going 
to recover. He is certainly not going to 
get up off of that bed. And it's probably not because 
of the fall that he took with reference to the lattice. It's 
the fall that he took following Ahab and Jezebel and Jeroboam, 
the son of Nebat. The physical fall wasn't his 
downfall. It was the spiritual fall, the 
descent into idolatry. And look at what this passage 
tells us about idolatry. Isn't idolatry seeing something 
as more able to speak to our needs than God himself? You see, 
it may not be Beelzebub, but it might be something else in 
our lives that we perceive as more competent to deal with our 
particular issues than the true and living God. might be drugs, 
might be alcohol, might be a whole host of things. Is it God to 
whom we bring our innermost trials, troubles and sorrows? You see, 
that one to whom we turn to in the midst of sorrows demonstrates 
our total allegiance, right? Any of us who have been in the 
way for any degree of time knows that when the trials come, it 
sends us to our God, doesn't it? If trials come and sends 
us to some other alternative, whether it be Beelzebub or any 
other created thing, then it's that created thing that holds 
our affections. You see, trials demonstrate that 
issue of allegiance. And when Ahaziah falls through 
the lattice, his cry is not to Yahweh of Israel, it is to Beelzebub, 
the Lord of Flies. He wants help from a dunghill 
deity, and he's certainly not going to get it. You see, brethren, 
this passage is, I think, a lot more appropriate or a lot more 
applicable to us than I think at times we believe. Now notice, 
the assumption is that we know he's told the messengers the 
question of Ahaziah, their response, and then note verse 7. Then he 
said to them, what kind of a man was it who came up to meet you 
and told you these words? One wonders if Ahaziah already 
has a sneaking suspicion. He knew of Elijah's history with 
Ahab. He knew this. I think when he 
announces it at the end of verse 8, it isn't, it's Elijah the 
Tishbite. I don't think he likes the taste 
of the words on his mouth. I think it's almost vomitous. 
I think it's revolting to him and repulsive. But what kind 
of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words? So they answered him, a hairy 
man wearing a leather belt around his waist. I love that. There's 
the rationale for all the beard growing Calvinists today. There 
it is. He's our patron saint, this hairy 
man wearing a leather belt around his waist. Now note the disdain 
of Ahaziah. He said, it is Elijah the Tishbite. I would imagine it was much the 
way Ahab mentioned Micaiah to Jehoshaphat. Yeah, there is one 
more. He only ever speaks evil concerning 
me and not good. And it's Micaiah. It's just like 
this difficulty to even pronounce because there's such hatred and 
disdain for him because he's a true man of God and he doesn't 
tell me the things that I want to hear. That's the way it reads 
here. It is Elijah the Tishbite. Now notice, in the second place, 
the protection of God's prophet in verses 9 to 14. In verses 
9 to 12, you have the death of 102 men. the death by fire of 
102 men. Notice in verse 9, the king sent 
to him a captain of 50 with his 50 men. So the captain and his 
50. So he went up to him, and there 
he was sitting on the top of a hill, and he spoke to him, 
man of God, the king has said, come down. So Elijah answered 
and said to the captain of 50, if I am a man of God, then let 
fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men. 
You get this vibe that Elijah is suggesting. You really don't 
know what you're saying here. It's arguable that you actually 
think I'm a man of God, but if indeed I am a man of God, then 
let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men. 
Notice what it goes on to say there in verse 10, and fire came 
down from heaven and consumed him and his 50. This is disturbing 
for some people, some Bible readers, some professing Christians. We 
don't like this concept of God. We don't like the thought that 
God, the Holy One, sends fire upon His enemies. That doesn't 
meet with approval. But if that bothers us, it really 
bothers us that he does it again. I mean, we might excuse one sort 
of outburst on the part of God. Let's just settle it now. God 
has no outburst. He is impassable. There is no 
rise. There is no fall. There is no 
increase or diminishment in God. All that God is, is always all 
that God is. He doesn't, you know, get upset 
and lash out in these sorts of ways. This is a settled expression 
of the holiness and justice of God. But if we are the kind of 
Christians that get a little bothered by such things, we might 
excuse, you know, one set of 50 and their captain. Okay, we'll 
forgive you of that. You betrayed your niceness there 
for a moment. Now, you may think I'm being 
cheeky, but there are people out there that don't like this 
concept of God. They don't like the Old Testament 
concept of God. They don't have a problem with 
the New Testament concept of God, which, by the way, is exactly 
and precisely the same. I don't know how they live in 
such a paradox. Oh, we don't like this idea that God would 
kill these 50 in one men and then do it again. But in the 
Ananias and Sapphira incident in Acts chapter 5, That doesn't 
bother them? I suspect it does, but they just 
don't think about the reconciliation, or the unity rather, of who God 
is throughout scripture. So anyways, God does it again. 
The only difference is sort of the impetuousness of this next 
captain. Notice in verse 11, then he sent 
to him another captain of 50 with his 50 men, and he answered 
and said to him, man of God, thus has the king said, come 
down quickly. We don't have time to waste. 
You can't be sitting around while you're killing 50 and 1. You've 
got to come down, you've got to quickly appear before Ahaziah 
because you've got to take your medicine. Now as I said, this 
does offend. One man, a commentator, says 
this with reference to the deaths of these 102. There may well 
be a nucleus of historical fact in Elijah's protest against Ahaziah's 
appeal to the oracle of Baal of Ekron. But in the annihilation 
of the king's innocent emissaries by fire, there is a moral pointlessness, 
a moral pointlessness, which relegates the tradition to the 
same category as Elisha's baneful curse upon the rude boys of Bethel. You see, that's another thing 
that we're going to have to deal with, is when those she-bears 
killed those people who called, or mauled those people, those 
young men that called Elisha a baldhead. I mean, this is a 
god that bothers people, doesn't he? Maybe you don't get out enough, 
but talk about this God sometimes, in nice civil Christian settings, 
and see what happens. You'll see eyes roll, you'll 
say, oh, that's the old Pestamir. You can't really believe that 
that's the same sort of thing that happens today, or even better, 
you can't even believe those things came true. There's people 
out there that profess saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 
that deny the supernatural and the miraculous. Another writer 
writes of the preposterousness of the miraculous element in 
the story and laments its inhumanity with the destruction of the innocent 
fifties. Is that really what's happening 
here? I want to just draw out a few things that I think is 
actually going on here. In the first place, we need to 
identify the responsible agent in terms of the consuming fire. See, a lot of people blame Elijah. Elijah is this vindictive, nasty 
prophet that calls down the fire of God upon his enemies. Who 
sent the fire? It was God. Don't miss that. I mean, Elijah's pretty simple. He just says, if I'm a man of 
God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 
50 men. He didn't control the fire. He didn't light the fire. He didn't direct the fire. He 
didn't manipulate the fire. The fire comes from God. Davis 
says, when we are told that fire came down from heaven, we are 
to understand that God answered Elijah's call affirmatively. See, Elijah says, if I am a man 
of God, let fire come down from heaven. Since God lets fire come 
down from heaven, we have to assume that there was nothing 
wrong with what Elijah said. Elijah was perfectly legit and 
perfectly consistent. He goes on to say, if Elijah's 
request was wrong-headed or reprehensible or perverse, God would not and 
should not have assented. See, the real culprit in the 
fire situation is God. It's not Elijah. Elijah didn't 
manufacture the fire. Elijah didn't control the fire. 
Elijah wasn't responsible directly for the deaths of these 102. 
It was God. Secondly, we need to understand 
the spirit of Elijah in this particular section. John Gill 
rightly points out, as does Matthew Poole, this he said, not in a 
passion and from a private spirit of revenge, but for the vindication 
of the honor and glory of God." See, that's what's at stake for 
Elijah. It's not, I just want to see 
you 102 burn up. Thirdly, there is an attempt 
to find solace in Jesus. Look at Luke chapter 9. Luke 
chapter 9, solace in Jesus to try and escape the nastiness 
or perceived nastiness of this passage in 2 Kings chapter 1. 
What persons do is they compare Jesus in Luke chapter 9 with 
this Elijah incident, and they say, well, you see, there's your 
difference between the Old Testament God and the New Testament God. You see, in the Old Testament, 
God sends down fire and consumes these 102 innocent, pitiful, 
pathetic little men. But in the New Testament, Jesus 
condemns these men for wanting to do likewise. Notice in Luke 
9.51. Now it came to pass, when the 
time had come for him to be received up, that he steadfastly set his 
face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face. 
And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans to 
prepare for him. But they did not receive him, 
because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And 
when his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, Lord, 
do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and 
consume them just as Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them 
and said, You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 
For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to 
save them. And they went to another village. The two situations are 
completely different. That a Samaritan city wasn't 
hospitable to Jesus doesn't mean we invoke the fire of God to 
burn them up, because the message in this particular section is 
the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save 
them. He has set his face steadfast, like a steadfast, to go to Jerusalem 
to die for sinners and to rise again. It's two completely contrary, 
different things. Matthew Poole says specifically 
here, and therefore Christ does not condemn this fact of Elijah. Notice he doesn't say what Elijah 
did was wrong, he says what you men want to do is wrong. That 
you invoke Elijah for your sort of justification shows that you've 
misunderstood the situation concerning Elijah and the situation concerning 
the Samaritan village. You men as disciples that are 
accompanying me to Jerusalem aren't to invoke the fire of 
God upon a city that is inhospitable to the Son of Man. It's a completely 
different situation. So pull again, Christ doth not 
condemn this fact of Elijah but only reproves his disciples for 
their perverse imitation of it from another spirit and principle 
and in a more unseasonable time. See, it wasn't the time, it wasn't 
the place, it was not a parallel situation. So for those who try 
and find solace in Jesus to say, well, Jesus isn't down with what 
Elijah did. He never condemns Elijah. Remember, 
Jesus is the second person of the Blessed Trinity. He's the 
one who sent the fire to consume these hundred and two. See why 
Trinitarian theology is crucial? See why you need to think God's 
thoughts after him so you don't end up with some wacky view that 
there's an Old Testament God and a New Testament God and they're 
sort of at odds with one another? But fourthly, we ought to appreciate 
what really is happening here in 2 Kings 1. He is protecting 
Elijah. Why do you think that Ahaziah 
sent 50 plus 1 and then 50 plus 1? Do you think he wanted to 
invite him out for golf? Do you think he wanted to invite 
him over for dinner? Do you think he wanted to talk 
to him about the merits of Beelzebub versus Yahweh? He sent 50 plus 
one to apprehend him and bring him back to the royal court, 
no doubt to be executed. God says, with reference to the 
third captain, who incidentally learns the lesson that the fear 
of God has to teach, God says to that man, or says to Elijah, 
don't be afraid to go with him. What does that imply or infer? 
That it was right for Elijah to be afraid to go with the first 
50 plus 1 or the second 50 plus 1 because they wanted to seize 
him and bring him to judgment. They wanted to hurt him. They 
wanted to kill him. John Gill says, they came not 
in honor to him, but to bring him by force if he refused to 
come willingly. Davis says, here is an undefended 
prophet, accosted by royal military muscle. The palace intends to 
use its police in order to dispose of the prophet. What's he supposed 
to do? Just thought Elijah go and be 
gunned down by these men? No, he sends fire to consume 
them as well. Fifthly, he's protecting the 
Word of God. What is this teaching us, but 
what 1 Kings has taught us over and over again? What is the typical 
response of godless kings when they get a message from the Lord 
that is disagreeable to them? They try to silence the word, 
don't they? And that's happened over and over again. You see 
it in 1 Kings 13, Jeroboam, you see it in chapter 17, you see 
it in chapter 18, you see it in chapter 22. I mean, what happened 
to Michael when he told the truth that was contrary to Ahab the 
prophet? He got a smack on the mouth, 
he got mocked, and he got sent to prison with bare minimum for 
rations. So you see, God is protecting 
the Word. And what God is telling us here, 
at least incidentally, is this, that no government, no tyrant, 
no dictator, no despot can ever stop the truth of God's Word. 
His truth will march on. If 102 soldiers need to die on 
the field of battle so that the Word of God triumphs, then so 
be it. But then finally, before we move 
on, looking at these 102, What does the fire from heaven suggest 
to us? It hasn't been that long since 
we were at Mount Carmel in 1 Kings chapter 18. You see, Ahaziah 
didn't get the point in 1 Kings chapter 18. Ahaziah had certainly 
heard the point in 1 Kings chapter 18 because we know that Ahab 
tells Jezebel in chapter 19 what happened at Mount Carmel. Carmel. Ahaziah would have known that, 
but he was dense, he was thick, he was an idolater with a hardened 
heart. And he didn't get the message 
with reference to God's action. Again, Davis, I think, nails 
it. He says, Carmel day, that means the first Kings 18 situation, 
made the point. Yahweh is the real God, Baal, 
Asari, non-entity. But Ahaziah didn't get the point. 
When he has an urgent need for health care, he appeals to bail. 
Bail the loser. What do you do when someone is 
so dense, so thick, that he doesn't grasp what fire means? You send 
more fire. That's what's going on here, 
brethren. Don't miss the connection. In fact, write 1 Kings 18 in 
your margin so you don't ever think, oh man, that seems so 
unkind that God sends fire down upon these 102 innocent little 
guys. He goes on to say, the point is the same, i.e., Yahweh 
is the only God, but the fire is not only demonstrative, as 
at Carmel in 1 Kings 18, but destructive. 102 seared remains 
thanks to Ahaziah. The first commandment really 
matters to Yahweh, and Ahaziah just doesn't get it. You see, 
that's the lesson for us here. I think that's probably what's 
really offensive to those, you know, pagans for sure, and many 
Christians who roll their eyes at such passages. We just don't 
esteem the first commandment the way God does. We just don't 
take it as seriously. When he says, you shall have 
no other gods besides me or no other gods before me, he means 
business. He definitely intends that for 
our benefit and for his glory. It's only us who say, well, you 
know, it's not that important. It's not that big of a deal that 
you should actually, you know, burn up 102 men on this particular 
place. No, God is jealous for his own 
glory and for his own honor. Now notice the humility of this 
third captain in verses 13 and 14. He got word, didn't he? You ever hear that? Oh yeah, 
you know, we shouldn't preach on the fear of God or the wrath 
of God or the law of God. You know, sinners just need to 
hear the love of God. I don't doubt sinners need to 
hear the love of God. I don't doubt that God uses the 
message of the love of God to bring sinners to himself. But 
I agree with Spurgeon. He says God has different bait 
for different fish. You know, if you're a fisherman 
and you go fish a particular species, you use a particular 
bait. You go to this pond, you use a different bait. You go 
to this swamp, you use a different bait. You go deep-sea fishing, 
you use a different bait. God has different baits. Some 
sinners are wooed in by the love, mercy, and kindness of God. Others 
hear the wrath, and fury, and judgment, and justice, and righteousness 
of God. They fear and tremble, and what 
do they do? They run to the Savior. Jesus said that fear is a great 
motivator. He said, do not fear those who 
can kill the body, but then can do nothing else, but rather fear 
him who has the power to kill both body and soul in hell. Are we smarter than Jesus? Do 
we actually have the idea, the audacity to suggest that we ought 
not to preach the fear of God or the law of God or the judgment 
of God or the wrath of God? It had beautiful effects upon 
this man here. Davis points out a historical 
reference, George Whitefield, you probably all heard of that 
famous 18th century evangelist. 1756, he preached in a church 
of a William Grimshaw, and there wasn't enough room in the church 
to house all the people that wanted to hear Whitfield preached. So he built a pulpit outside 
and of course the masses gathered and Whitfield announced his text. 
It was Hebrews 9. It's appointed unto men to die 
once and then judgment. He announces that text and there's 
a great shriek out in the crowd. Turns out somebody dropped dead. 
So they got the body out of there and Whitfield started up again 
and another shriek. Another person dropped dead. 
I don't know how long it took, but they got the body out of 
there. I can't imagine they left the body there. And then Whitefield 
started and preached. Davis makes the observation. 
Do you think those people listened that day? Oh yeah. They probably listened as if 
their lives depended upon it. You see, brethren, this man had 
heard. He could sing with Newton. T'was 
grace that taught my heart to fear. I'm not suggesting he's 
necessarily converted. We shouldn't read all those New 
Testament concepts back. There's a marked difference between 
the first and the second captain and this third. Notice in verse 
13. Again he sent a third captain, a fifty with his fifty men, and 
the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees 
before Elijah and pleaded with him and said to him, Man of God, 
please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours 
be precious in your sight. Look, fire has come down from 
heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with 
their fifties, but let my life now be precious in your sight. It had a wonderful effect upon 
that man's soul. Be careful of thinking that we're 
smarter than God and that the fear of God, the law of God, 
the judgment of God, the wrath of God, the fury of God are antiquated 
Old Testament concepts that ought not to have a place in a Christian 
pulpit. How does the writer of the book 
of Hebrews, I take it as Paul, in Hebrews 12 describe God? Just 
like Moses does in Deuteronomy, our God is what? A consuming 
fire. Now, when he says that, it's 
in the context of worship that is acceptable to God. So I deduce 
from that that 1st Commandment, 2nd Commandment stuff is still 
important to God when we get to Hebrews 12. There is no change. There is no relinquishment of 
those holy standards. And brethren, I'm not suggesting 
we get a bullhorn and scream in the ears of sinners all these 
terrible things about wrath and hell and fire and burning. But 
I'm suggesting that there might be a time and a season for that 
very thing. It had a wonderful effect upon this third captain 
of the 15. And then notice finally, the certainty of God's Word, 
verses 15 to 18. The angel of the Lord said to 
Elijah, go down with him, do not be afraid of him. So he arose 
and went down with him to the king. Then he said to him, thus 
says the Lord, because you have sent messengers to inquire of 
Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no god 
in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you shall not come 
down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely 
die." Note this about Elijah. He's the man, isn't he? He has 
to go stand before Ahab and put his finger in his face and tell 
him that there's a drought coming and you are the troubler of Israel. 
He has to go to Ahaziah and says, because you treat it as if there 
is no God in Israel, you're going to die. I mean, brethren, no 
wonder he is paradigmatic for courageous preachers. We know 
that because of Matthew chapter 11. John the Baptist is an Elijah. John the Baptist is that manner 
of man that brings the truth without respect of who it is 
he's speaking to. I remember, sounds like a long 
time ago, when I was at Mike's graduation, One of the men, was 
it Godfrey? Yeah, Dr. Godfrey, who's actually retired 
as the seminary president, he referred to this particular statement. A person standing before John 
Knox opened grave. You know who John Knox was, the 
great reformer in Scotland. I'm told by my brother that it's 
unfortunately under a parking structure now, John Knox's grave. But when John Knox's body was 
lowered there, and the grave was open, a man said, here lies 
a man who neither flattered nor feared any flesh." That beautiful? Wouldn't that be the best thing 
to have on a preacher or a prophet's tombstone? Here lies a man who 
neither flattered nor feared any flesh. Elijah is that man. Go, tell Ahaziah, this is the 
issue. He goes, he tells Ahaziah, this 
is the issue. That is just beautiful, brethren. 
That's the kind of preacher that we need today. And then, of course, 
the certainty of God's Word, verses 17 and 18. So Ahaziah 
died according to the word of the Lord, which Elijah had spoken. 
Because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place. That's 
Jehoram, the son of Ahab. In the second year of Jehoram, 
the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Again, not seeing double, 
there's actually two Jehorams. Now the rest of the Acts of Ahaziah, 
which he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles 
of the Kings of Israel? One man points out, aside from 
the brief notice about Moab's rebellion, this narrative is 
the only incident reported for the reign. Curiously, the writer 
recounts not how the king ruled, but how he died. That's it. Verses 
1 to 18 is how Ahaziah died. Well, in conclusion, I would 
suggest, with reference to idolatry, before we leave this chapter, 
we ought to appreciate that the essence of it, if we look at 
it here, I'm sure there's other things we could fill in to kind 
of flesh out what all is involved in idolatry, but it is a confession 
that the true and living God is not competent to deal with 
our particular needs. This God cannot provide healing. Isn't this the faultiness of 
Syrian theology that we encountered in the battles in chapter 20 
in 1 Kings? Well, their God is the God of 
the hills. If we bring them out to the plains, 
well, then we'll be victorious. So what God does, or what does 
God do? Get them out on the plains, I'll destroy them there. You 
see, brethren, we want to compartmentalize our lives, and at times we want 
to compartmentalize our gods. We want this God for the super 
spiritual salvation part, and we like to visit him on Sunday. 
But with reference to Monday through Saturday, we're going 
to absolutely disregard, you know, what Solomon says in Proverbs 
3, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your 
own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and 
He will direct your paths. Our God is not just a Sunday 
God. He's a Monday through Saturday 
God as well. So the essence of idolatry, or 
rather, an aspect of idolatry, is a confession that the true 
and the living God is not competent to deal with our needs. I think, 
secondly, we ought to appreciate the fact that trials do demonstrate 
something about us. Yeah, what we are in prosperity 
gives a hint about what kind of people we are. What we are 
in happy times gives a hint of what we are. But it's the sorrows, 
it's the trials, it's how we bear up, it's how we deal. Do 
we come apart? Do we lose it? Do we act as if 
there is no God? That's essentially what Ahaziah 
is doing. He's acting as if there is no God in Israel. I gotta 
send to the Philistines, I gotta send to Ekron, I gotta go to 
the Lord of Flies, in order to get the answer that I'm searching 
after. Brethren, are we searching after 
the Lord of the Flies when it comes to our particular issues 
and our struggles and our trials? I'm not preaching therapeutic 
deism or moralism or anything like that. But in times of sorrow, 
what are we told in the Psalms? What are we told, as reiterated 
by Peter in 1 Peter 5? We're reminded of this in preaching 
recently. We're to cast our burdens upon 
God. You know why? Because He cares for us. Isn't 
that a beautiful argument? Cast your care upon me because 
I care for you. What a beautiful thing. I think 
it's the subscription or the superscription to Psalm 116. 
I love the Lord because He has heard the voice of my supplications. 
That's the kind of God we serve. We can love Him because. Certainly 
we love Him because of who He is. He's infinite, eternal, unchangeable 
in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, 
and truth. We love Him because He hears our prayers. We cast 
our burdens upon Him because He actually receives them. You know, we can talk to somebody 
else and, you know, they're texting, oh, yeah, I'm sorry that you 
got that problem. You know, that's sort of the degree of care we 
get back. We cast our burdens upon God. 
He cares for us. And then the net effect, ultimately, 
of idolatry is that it evidences a practical atheism. Matthew Henry said that a practical 
and constructive atheism is the cause and malignity of our departures 
from God. Surely we think there is no God 
in Israel when we live at large, make flesh our arm, and seek 
a portion in the things of this world. That is practical atheism. That has been expressed by Ahaziah 
in his idolatrous turn to Baal-Zebub in his time of need. And certainly 
the chapter tells us many wonderful things about God Most High. Certainly 
this passage is about God. And I think that this whole idea 
of miracles... God does display miracles. He 
shows it at 1 Kings chapter 18. He shows it twice in the destruction 
of these 102 men. But these aren't positive things, 
are they? They're not. The fact that God 
sends miracles is really an unfortunate testimony to how thick-headed 
we really are. I mean, the idea is that we should 
just hear His word and do exactly what He tells us. The fact that 
God has to tell Elijah to engage in this contest at Carmel shows 
how really low the nation had descended, that it had come to 
that point where God had to actually prove that He was God. The same 
thing here, A.S.I. Do I gotta, you know, burn up 
102 of your soldiers to get your attention? To convince you that 
I'm really here, that I'm really the living and true God? Davis 
says, miracles may be a sign of our perversity rather than 
a mark of God's pleasure. Not necessarily a testimony. It's always a testimony, obviously, 
to God's power, but it may be a testimony to our thick-headedness 
that the Lord has to do this to get our attention. We should just listen to His 
Word and obey. Well, let's close in a word of 
prayer. Father, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You 
for the lessons here concerning Ahaziah. Give us grace not to 
duplicate these things, God. Help us to be faithful. Help 
us in good times and bad times, in trials, sorrows, woes, and 
seasons of joy and great blessing, to always be calling upon the 
true and the living God, to be a prayerful people, to be an 
obedient people, May our allegiance always be to You. We ask that 
You would go with us now, bring us together on the Sabbath, that 
we may praise and worship You, help us to be as concerned for 
the First and Second Commandments as You obviously are, and give 
us grace to love these things and to love the truths of Holy 
Scripture, and to defend them in a godless world, and to defend 
them in an oftentimes mixed-up Christian church. And we pray 
this through Christ our Lord. Amen.